Scary
by helencheddar
Summary: Jack had always found the girl in red a little scary, but after she became known as the notorious Bloody Red, it seemed like everyone knew her name as much as his. This basically chronicles Jack and Red's relationship between acts 1 and 2, going into act 2. Rated T because this is based on a darker, more suggestive production. Jack and Red are about 15 and 14 at the beginning.
1. Bloody Red

**A/N: This fic is based on a darker production of the show where Jack and Red were older (15 and 14 respectively at the start of the story) and the relationships between red and the wolf (and to some extent jack and the giantess) were more sexual, so it's a bit different from the other Red/Jack fics. Oh, and also, the harp is a live woman in this version.**

CHAPTER ONE: Bloody Red

Five Months after Slaying the Giant

Jack the Giant Killer. He'd never get used to that title. It was as enticing as it was frightening. He woke up every morning thinking it was a dream and he would wake up. He thought he'd be in the same shanty house, with the same frazzled mother, the same skinny cow...

But when he woke up each morning he would remember again.

Oh... right... I'm a Giant Killer.

His now almost lavish house was filled with gold that they hadn't spent yet.

"Fe Fi Fo" the Harp trilled at him. She shone a bright gold all over and smiled at him. It'd taken a bit of getting used to, but soon the two were good friends. He still thought she was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen; that was the reason he stole her. But he'd realized a long time ago that she was made of metal, so he couldn't do much more than admire her.

"Good morning, son!" said his mother.

He never got used to her sounding happy. He'd never heard her speak any lower than a yell in his entire life. He liked that she was happy, but it would take some getting used to. After a hearty breakfast, she told him she was going off to market, and that his friends would be coming by at some point.

Friends. More than one. That was another thing he needed to get used to. He admitted, he would've much rather his friends just include Milky White, the harp, the hen, and maybe the girl in red. He was never sure what she was to him. Were they friends? Were they enemies? Something in between?

But after he'd killed the giant, things had changed. People flocked from miles around to see the wreckage. He became a hero hailed throughout the kingdom, and because of that, he'd gained some new "friends".

He didn't know why he kept them around. Maybe because part of him liked the attention he got, but there was a gang of boys that would come around and try to get on his good side. There were some girls too, of course. Some of them were pretty, but they were a bit... strange.

They came around noon and they went to the market with him in tow. There was Blue, Pinocchio, Simon, and a couple other boys whose names he couldn't remember. They chortled on about girls and hunting and how manly they all were. He'd never spent much time with other boys and was pretty awkward about it, but to them, he could do no wrong. He wasn't a smart boy, but he definitely knew they wouldn't be this nice to him if he weren't this famous.

They walked on aimlessly. He told his mother he would stay at home, and it was just nice to be disobeying her. He loved her, but it was awfully fun to go against her wishes. Suddenly the tone changed. There was a group of girls up ahead. The group assumed the position, catcalling and wolf-whistling at them. A few of the shy ones just looked away from them awkwardly. Jack was among that group, though he didn't fancy any of them.

Florinda was Blue's girl. They'd been courting for a while behind her mother's back. Simon, a large, brutish boy even duller than Jack was, had Goldilocks. It was a wonder she hadn't ended up like the Girl in Red, ever since her experience with the Bears, but she'd escaped in time. She was a whiny girl, constantly complaining that it was too hot or too cold, while Simon tuned her out, just staring at her blankly. Pinoccio, the snobbish rich son of a woodcarver, had no girl, but acted as though they couldn't resist him. And then there was Jill.

Everyone said she was Jack's girl, even though they didn't speak much. She was considered one of the prettiest girls in the land who hadn't already been made a princess. Surely the future wife of a Giant Killer was the next best thing. She was rather clumsy, and almost charming, but there was just something about her that Jack didn't like. He couldn't explain what it was: she was beautiful, with big blue eyes and long blond hair and a tiny waist, but there was something about her that made none of that matter.

"Hello, Jack," she said flirtatiously.

"Hey Jill," he mumbled.

She started babbling on about how great he was. He should've liked that, but even he could tell she was lying. She didn't know anything about him other than he was famous, and that was all that mattered. Still, she was a pretty nice girl.

He drifted off into a reverie, ignoring the loud voices around him. He was thinking about the kingdom in the sky. He missed it even though it was frightening. The giantess was kind to him, though he knew she'd hate him now for killing her husband. But she didn't seem to like her husband anyway...

Suddenly the chatter around him stopped abruptly. He shook himself out of the reverie. This could only mean one thing.

She sashayed by, her eyes scanning across the group. They only stood there, silent, suddenly stopping. They shuddered when they met her gaze. It was the girl in Red.

Ever since the incident with the wolf, people had treated her differently. While before she was just another little girl on the street, recognized only by her red cape, now she'd become almost as famous as him among the children, but especially among the young men in the land.

Everyone mocked her, but at the same everyone was terrified of her. In the place of her red cape was a pelt of wolfskin that she wore, even in summer, and at her waist hung a hunting knife. She was a scary sight for even the toughest hunter. No one knew her name, and no one really wanted to. They instead made up their own, some more unsavory than others, but no matter the name, you knew who she was.  
She swaggered across the group until she reached Jack.  
"Hey Jack," she said, in a voice too low and womanish for a girl her age. Jack knew she didn't always talk like that, but no one else did. It was the voice she used to scare people.  
"Hey you."  
"Not selling any milk today?" she said jokingly. He hadn't sold milk since before the giant was slayn.  
"Afraid not."  
"Oh well," she said almost seductively, "I'll try again tomorrow."  
That was their usual exchange on the road. She used to be a regular customer back when he was still poor and she was still cloaked in red. When she was still a little girl.

He kind of liked her new voice. It raised chills up his spine, like everyone else's, but, in a strange way, he kind of liked it. It was very different from Jill's girlish giggle.

She sashayed away. His eyes lingered on her for a second longer than he knew they should have, but either she didn't notice or didn't mind. He then turned back to the group.

They looked at him incredulously.

"Did you just... talk to her?" asked a boy whose name he forgot.

"Well, yeah. She talked to me. What else would I do?"

The children hadn't heard her speak much. They didn't really talk to her, so she had no reason to reply.

"Wow," said Jill, twirling a lock of hair in her finger, "You sure are brave."

They went on and on about how brave he was to have spoken to her and soon they had somehow collectively decided to stop by an apple tree at the side of the road. They all sat in the grass, and soon the topic turned to the scary girl in red.

"I heard she laid with a wolf!" said Florinda.

"Not just one!" said Blue.

"No, she was eaten by one," said Jack.

"Yeah!" said Simon, "The wolf ate her."

"-After he laid with her," Blue interrupted, "And she went completely crazy. She goes into the woods and skins wolves with that knife as her revenge. The hunter who cut her out gave it to her."

"No, she's a witch!" said Jill, "She used witchcraft to get out. She can move things just by thinking about them, that sort of thing. And she carves up wolves now."

"Oh, and not just wolves!" said Pinocchio, "They say she carves up some... other things as her revenge. She hates all men and wants to get her revenge by..."

"Ew! Don't make me think about that!" another boy said, crossing his legs in sympathy.

Jack thought he would protest again, but wanted to hear what else they thought she did.

"Does anyone know her name? Does she even have one?" Goldilocks asked.

Blue shook his head, "No one can ever hear her name, or else they lose their mind. They just call her Bloody Red, for the red dress she wears."

"Oh, that's not why they call her Bloody Red. Though, personally, I prefer to call her the She- Wolf!" said Pinocchio.

"The Wolf's Whore!" shouted Florinda.

"No!" said Jill, and they all looked at her, "she's the Bitch!"

They were all rolling in laughter at that, except for Jack, who didn't like them insulting his friend, and Simon, who didn't get it.

After nearly five minutes they calmed down for a moment, until Simon let out a loud "OHHHHH! Because she's a wolf!"

And they all broke into more uproarous laughter at this. Jack was getting madder by the second. He knew she was infamous, but he didn't know how much everyone really hated her. They thought it was funny, what happened to her. Of course they'd never laugh in front of her, they were all too scared. They were all cowards.

Finally, the laughter died down.

"Why do you all hate her so much?" Jack asked.

"What?" Blue asked in disbelief, "what's not to hate."

"She cuts boys up!" Simon exclaimed.

"No, she doesn't..." he said, a little frightened that he could be wrong, "and she's not a witch or a whore!"

"Why are you sticking up for her?" Pinocchio asked.

"Because I-"

"JACK'S IN LOVE WITH BLOODY RED!" Goldilocks cried out, forgetting to agree with everything Jack said.

"No I'm not!" he said. Why was he so defensive about that? Did he really believe all of this?

"Oh my Narrator, you can't be!" Florinda giggled.

"Of course he isn't!" said Jill, and for a moment he thought she'd seen reason, "How could a hero like him ever love a fallen woman?"

Now he knew why he didn't like her.

"Yeah," said Blue, "She's used goods. No man would want her."

This was just getting worse and worse. What if he just said he was. Would everyone leave her alone then? No, they wouldn't. She was too hated for that. They would just think he was trying to tame her like all the other monsters they said he'd faced. Oh yes, there were rumors about him too. About the giant having six heads and riding a tiger, and about him killing a dragon in the kingdom in the sky. He supposed they had both become legends, in their own right, and nothing would change that.

But why did it have to be her?


	2. Laughter

**CHAPTER TWO: LAUGHTER**

After a while the crowd started chattering about something else. He thought it was about what they thought of the Princes' new brides. He wasn't paying much attention.

He remembered the day he'd found the kingdom in the sky. It was the same day the girl in red was devoured. He remembered every detail of that day vividly, and would sometimes replay it in his head.

That morning he'd gotten up early as usual, and his mother had told him to sell Milky White. After some pleading, he agreed to go and sell her. Of course, Milky was not happy about that, but then again, neither was he. He walked out to market, trying to go as slowly as possible. He was very reluctant. He walked down the path a short way before seeing her.

She was ragged and cold- looking. She always looked a little odd. She seemed to wear the same thing every day: the red cape a dress that was far too short for her. Not that it looked bad. He'd always thought she had pretty legs, though his mother always said it was shameful to look at girls that way.

"Hey Jack," she said. Her voice was still girlish.

His eyes snapped back up to her face, "Oh. Hey... you," he said sorrowfully.

"You selling milk today?" she asked. She wasn't the type to ask what's wrong. Either she didn't care or she knew he didn't want to talk about it, he wasn't sure.

"No," he sighed. He didn't want to tell her why, for fear he wouldn't see her again. Her and her nice legs...

"Oh..." she said, "I guess Granny will have to do without it."  
She was going to her Grandmother's house again. She seemed to do that a lot. He decided to keep talking to her anyway. It would give him some time before he had to sell Milky White. Plus he'd never really spoken to her this much.  
"Are you going to the King's Festival?" he asked.  
"I wish," she sang lightly, then she spoke again, "No. Mother wants me to go to Granny's. She's sick you know. But the Festival sounds fun. Of course I wouldn't go to the ball. Though it might be fun to stir things up," she laughed.  
"Yeah..." he said, his eyes drifting downward toward her breasts. He could hear his mother's disapproving voice in his mind for a moment, but soon it was gone.  
She was rather developed for a girl her age. He'd always been told girls like that were more likely to get into trouble. But they looked nice... soft... warm...  
"Uh... Jack?"  
"What? Yeah... the Festival..." he said, shaking his head, his eyes darting back up to hers.  
She laughed, "You really do have your head in the clouds. Of course, no prince in his right mind would choose me anyway, so why would I care?"  
"Oh, I don't know..." he said.  
"I guess I don't care much about the prince. Those rich fellows are usually cowards anyway. They'd be no match for my FIERCE WARRIOR WAYS!" she said with a smile, putting her hands on her hips triumphantly. She did have nice round hips too...  
"But it would be fun anyway," she sighed, "Oh well... I wish..." she sang.  
"Yeah," he said, his voice breaking slightly, "Fierce warrior ways."  
"So, what are you doing today?" she asked, in a rare attempt to be social with him. Usually she didn't talk to him much. He couldn't help but wonder why she was now.  
"Oh..." he said, not sure whether he should tell her, "I don't know."  
"You don't know?" she asked skeptically, there was a pause. "I like that," she said, rather determinedly, "Why does everyone have to know what they're doing all the time anyway?" she paused, "I wish..."  
"But you really think rich men are cowards?" he asked, somewhat hopefully.  
"Oh, of course. When was the last time a prince did anything brave?" she said, starting to walk. He followed her.  
"I don't know. But all the girls seem to like them. They say they're handsome."  
She stopped for a moment, raising an eyebrow, "I suppose they are," she said with a devious smile, "But if a dragon... or maybe a wolf were attacking me, I'd have to save THEM too!"  
"They wouldn't save you?"  
"Well, they would be too scared to! They're too rich to be brave! Besides, I can handle things myself!"  
"I've never heard a girl say that."  
"Well I'm not a girl!" she said... "Well, I am, but not like MOST girls. Besides, they all secretly know that. The other girls just won't say it because they don't want to scare away the boys. But I know full well that I already do."  
"You do?"  
"Well, just look at you! You look terrified!"  
He supposed he did, but not in the way she was thinking.  
He laughed, "Yeah, I guess you are pretty scary."  
"Exactly! So I don't have to worry! I'd send those coward princes running for the hills, and then all the other girls would be mad at me. And anyway, I already told you I'm not allowed to go."

She was pretty scary at the time. Though he didn't know why. But she was also kind of pretty, for someone so scary. She had big, greyish bluish eyes. They kind of looked like a really cloudy sky, right before a thunderstorm. Did girls like it when boys said those kind of things? He supposed not, so he kept that thought to himself. She was also very pale, but not in a sick kind of way, with some freckles here and there, and had long brown hair in wild, tangled curls that she always kept down. Plus, as he'd noticed, she had a pretty nice figure, but in a different way. She wasn't dainty like a princess, where a single strong wind would knock them over. She was sturdier than that. Curvier than that. But still sort of smallish, and was currently staring at him with a strange look on her face.

"Why are you just standing there staring at me?" she asked.

He suddenly felt his face flush. He had to think fast.

"Um... I was trying to see if you look scary."

"Oh? Well... do I?" she asked, half jokingly half sincerely.

"Well yeah..." he said, "You do... but I'm scared of pretty girls," he added.

She raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Nice save."

She paused for a moment, "Wait, did you just say I was pretty?"

"Ummm... no?"

What was he doing? He was saying things without thinking. His mother always scolded him for that.

"So... then I'm not scary?" she said, finding this more amusing than offensive.

"Ummm... no?" he repeated. WAS THAT THE ONLY THING HE COULD SAY!?

"Fine!" she said. She was finding this far too entertaining to be healthy. He was afraid of what she was about to say next, "If I'm not scary, then I dare you to kiss me!"

She was still laughing, looking at him half-expectantly, to see his reaction. She seemed to enjoy making him squirm.

"Of course if I'm not scary, then I'm not pretty... but if you're brave enough to take a dare

then you're brave enough to kiss a girl that isn't pretty."  
He just stared at her, frozen. What was he supposed to do?  
"Well?" she asked. Would she stop laughing?  
She just stood there for a few moments. Would she really have even let him kiss her? He wondered that later. But at the moment he just stood there like a deer once it sets its eyes on an oncoming hunter.  
"Are you going to do it or not?" she asked, starting to get annoyed. All he could do was shake his head a little.  
Her eyes lit up and she clapped her hands together, "I knew it!" she giggled, "I knew you were scared of me!"  
She laughed as she skipped off with a fleeting, "Bye, Jack!"  
"Uh... bye..." he managed to croak.  
WHAT WAS WRONG WITH HIM!? WHY DIDN'T HE DO IT! He was too poor to be a coward! Wasn't that what she said?  
He could still hear that laugh in his mind. He hadn't heard it since. It was hard to believe he missed something that tormented him, but now she never laughed except for the occasional low, morbid chuckle. Much less giggled. Yet it echoed through his mind, slowly turning into something unpleasant and vapid. It wasn't her anymore it was...  
He shook his head as he saw Jill giggling. It was a tiny, feminine giggle that annoyed him to no end, again, for no real reason. He just knew she didn't find anything remotely funny and somehow thought laughing like that would impress people. Correction. Impress him. He never understood that, but all girls did it. All girls, of course, except the girl in red. But she could hardly be counted.  
Why was he thinking about this so much? He supposed that was why people thought he was dumb. He thought so for a while at first, but the other idiots he knew didn't think so much. If anything, he thought TOO much. And because of that he would drift off sometimes... more like drift off a lot.  
"Don't you agree, Jack?" she asked, still laughing.  
"Huh.. what?" he asked, bewildered.  
"Don't you agree that Bloody Red would make the worst princess of all!?" she asked.  
"What?"  
"Were you listening at all?" Goldilocks asked before getting elbowed hard by Blue. No one was supposed to be mean to him in the slightest (though they still were at times, they couldn't help themselves. They didn't really like him.).  
Blue took off from there, "We were talking about the Princes' new brides. The younger one, Rapunzel, is a total loon. I thought she was the worst, but Jill here proved me wrong."  
"Can you imagine it?" Jill asked, flipping her hair.  
"Yeah, she'd have someone killed before the wedding was over!" Goldilocks exclaimed. She was more morbid than the girl in red was, but acted daintier to hide it.  
"And she'd have had her way with half the groomsmen!" Blue added, laughing.  
"ONLY half?" Jill added.  
And at that they were all laughing. For the first time, these children were beginning to frighten him.  
"Well DON'T you agree Jack?"  
"About what? The murder or the groomsmen?"  
He wasn't sure which thought terrified him more.  
They all found this hilarious for some reason, and another roar of laughter came. Would they ever stop laughing for one damned minute? He'd been a lot angrier since slaying the giant. These children would never learn.


	3. The Girl

CHAPTER THREE: THE GIRL

She marched through the woods. She guessed that was the way she could describe how she walked when she was alone. More like storming. Why did she care! She didn't have time to think about this.  
Why didn't she?  
She forgot how little in demand she really was. She had a purpose, there was no doubt about that, as a public fixture. A display. An oddity. Without her, the people wouldn't have an enemy. Especially since the giants were slain and the wolfmen stayed away. Were there more than one? She did not know. There was something odd about that wolf...  
She stopped herself there. She tried to think about that day as little as possible. But little inklings would sneak past her when she wasn't looking.  
Those little brats were laughing at her. She could feel it. She wasn't sure where she was going at the moment. She guessed to Granny's house. Where else could she go? Her mother had had another fit that morning. She'd finally heard the extent of her reputation. Granny and the girl had both agreed to disclose as little as possible to her mother about the wolf scenario. Her mother assumed the changes happening after that were just her rebelling again. She knew only that a wolf had scared her and a man had killed it. Nothing more. And for a while they kept it that way. It was easy since Mother never left the house. The girl didn't remember her ever doing so in her entire life. Mother had depended on Father to protect her (though she cared little about the safety of her daughter, only her reputation), but he was always away. They all suspected lechery, though no one said anything.  
But, anyway, she couldn't go home, and she certainly couldn't go to town again. The children didn't hurt her that much, she just was not in the mood to be mocked today. She knew it was her duty. She had accepted it wholeheartedly long ago. She even made herself look the part. But for some reason, seeing Jack with that crowd always put her in bad sorts. She liked to think she didn't care what he thought of her, but she did. He was the closest thing she'd had to a friend. She didn't want him to be more afraid of her than he already was.  
But if he's afraid of you, that means you're pretty. A voice in her head teased her, remembering that day. She tried to put it out of mind. She wouldn't think back on that day.  
She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she jumped when she heard him call her.  
"Hey, you."  
That was the only thing he called her.  
She whipped around to look at him. It was funny, even though he'd startled her, he still had his usual terrified expression on his face.  
Then again, she failed to realize how menacing she made herself look.  
She'd painted black lines around her eyes, making them look large, sharp, and menacing. Her lips were painted a deep blood red, like her clothing, and her pale cheeks were smeared with rouge. The whole thing made her look more grown up and less approachable, which is exactly how she wanted to look. It made her look attractive, but in a way that made people want to stay the hell away from her.  
"Hey... you," she answered, dropping the pretense of the lower voice.  
He relaxed a little when he heard her speak.  
"So, your little friends think I'm funny," she said. She wasn't one for small talk.  
"Oh... yeah. I'm sorry about that," there was a pause where one would normally place a name, "They just don't know you like I do."  
She laughed without humor, "I'm afraid no one does. Which is sad, seeing as you don't know me at all."  
"I don't?" he asked warily. Were all the things they said about her true after all?  
"Of course not!" she responded, "You don't even know my name."  
"Well, of course I do, its..."  
Wow. He really didn't know her name. He never really had any opportunity to find out.  
"Bloody Red?" she replied. "The Wolf's Whore?" she began to laugh morbidly, "She Wolf? Bitch!?"  
His face fell. She knew.  
"Yes," she replied, as though she could read his thoughts, "I know the names."  
He hoped she really couldn't read his thoughts, because then he would have a lot of explaining to do for a lot of them.  
"Well don't look so shocked. News travels fast in this village. Especially if no one knows you can hear them," she said slowly, a bit sensually, and almost threateningly.  
There was a long, awkward silence.  
"Again, I'm really sorry about my friends."  
"Some friends huh?" she asked. She didn't like how hurt she seemed by this. She wasn't one to go off and cry, and she wasn't doing that, but she felt like she shouldn't be bothered by this in the slightest. She sort of knew all of this. She just didn't really like Jack hanging around with those stupid children. He slayed giants, after all!  
"I know, they're..."  
"Stupid? Cruel? A little TOO obsessed with us?"  
"Well... yeah. The are, aren't they?"  
"They're the frightening ones!" she laughed, with a little less morbidness.  
"Yeah, they were going on and on about you. It was getting kind of weird."  
"Were they? Well at least someone's going on and on about me!"  
She batted her long black lashes and tossed her hair a bit with fake flattery and her classic smirk appeared on her face for the first time in a while. Jack couldn't help but smile a little.  
"So, any little girlfriends I should know about?" she said teasingly, "Perhaps this Jill wench?"  
"She's not a wench!" he said, half- defending her, though he didn't know why, "And she's not my girlfriend."  
She raised an eyebrow, "Do you want her to be?"  
"Honestly... no."  
"Oh thank god," she breathed a sigh of relief, "I was starting to think you'd gone crazy!"  
"Hey! That's not nice."  
"Oh, Jack, you're too sweet," she said in a way that made him unsure whether or not that was a compliment, "the girl is the most obsessed of the bunch!"  
"She is?"  
"It's obvious she'd follow you to the ends of the earth, fall into the ocean, and drown because she wasn't looking where she was going," she said.  
He had to admit that one was kind of funny.  
"Yeah. She kind of thinks she's my girlfriend."  
Why was he telling her this? To make her jealous? He didn't think she could get jealous, especially since she didn't seem to fancy him in the slightest, and held even less regard for Jill.  
"I know."  
"You do?"  
"The world knows. She's not very good at hiding things."  
"You seem to be good at it," he said before he could think.  
"And what is that supposed to mean?" she said, getting a little angry.  
He stared at her blankly. He had to think quickly before she bit his head off.

"Well, I mean... well, because, well... everyone thinks you're so scary..." he said.

"Oh, really?" she said, not sure how to take that. She supposed, by his and her logic, it

was a compliment, "It's the paint isn't it?"  
She actually smiled. She wasn't angry!  
"Um.. yeah. It's definitely working."  
She smiled even more, "So, do you think I'm..." she raised an eyebrow, "Scary?"  
Was she remembering the conversation from that fateful morning? And, more importantly, was she flirting with him? What should he do?  
"Well... um... yeah..." he said, his voice cracking. He cleared his throat, "I mean, no. Of course not. How could you scare me? I'm Jack the Giant Slayer, remember," he said in as manly a voice as he could muster. Hopefully she would laugh.  
"Oh," she said, "Right. Of course not," she laughed a little, oddly nervously, "Why in the world would I think that?"  
Was she talking about the same thing? What had he done wrong. She should find this hilarious like she normally does. She should dare him to do something stupid, or try to scare him, or something. He never realized how much he missed that laugh.  
She sighed. There was another awkward pause.  
"Well, you've probably got to meet up with your girlfriend," she said, teasingly, but still nervously, "See you, Jack," she said, walking off in the opposite direction, still with no idea where she was going.  
"All right..." he replied, disappointed that she was leaving, "Good bye... you."  
She walked off a little distraught. She knew why, but didn't like to think that she was that weak. Did he really think she wasn't... scary?


	4. Truth or Dare and Kisses

CHAPTER FOUR: TRUTH OR DARE AND KISSES

"All right, truth or dare?" Florinda asked  
"Uh... dare!" Simon said, forgetting that it was his turn for a moment.  
"Hmmm... I dare you to... EAT SOME DIRT!"  
It was a lazy summer day and they were running out of ideas. Jack was just glad it wasn't his turn yet. He was a bit afraid of what they were going to give him, considering he had a Giant Slayer reputation to uphold.  
So Simon got down to it with few complaints, and the rest of the children watched and laughed, though without as much gusto as they usually did. It was the hottest day so far and no one was much in the mood for doing anything that required too much effort. When Simon had finished his grimy meal, all eyes turned to Jack.  
He was startled. It was his turn, how could he have not noticed?  
"So, Jack..." Jill said, "Truth or Dare?"  
"Uh... truth."  
He might as well play it safe. He didn't want to have them thinking he wasn't as brave as the world said he was, and he really had nothing to hide. At least, not much, so he went for it.  
"All right. Have you ever kissed a girl?"  
That one wasn't bad at all.  
"No," he said flatly. Most boys would have been embarrassed, but he didn't really care. There was no one he would want to kiss anyway. Especially not Jill. The girl in red was attractive, but he shuddered to think of what her reaction would be.  
There came a look of mock surprise all around.  
"Really?" Florinda said, trying to keep herself from giggling.  
"Oh come on," Blue said, "It's probably just cuz none of the girls are scary enough? Aint enough of a challenge, right?"  
"Yeah... sure," Jack replied lazily.  
"That was a pretty boring one anyway," said Goldilocks mischeviously, "I think we ought to add on a dare!"  
There came a collective "ooh" all around. They all knew where this was headed.  
"I dare you..." she said, trying to add suspense where none could really be added, "To kiss Jill!"  
More "oohs". They were really making this turn of events more surprising than it had to be. They were all too hot to take the situation very seriously.  
"Hey! Why Jill?" said a boy whose name he didn't know.  
"Well because she's got no beaux of course!" Goldilocks exclaimed, "Besides," she said, "Jill is rather pretty."  
They all seemed to come to an agreement. Jack just sat up. He didn't bother protesting. They would just think he was a coward, which he couldn't afford to have people think.  
She kneeled there, scrunching her face into that weird expression girls think they're supposed to make when they kissed. She looked like a little fish. It was not exactly attractive, but he guessed that was why people closed their eyes when they kissed. Did everyone make that stupid face?  
He had no time to reflect because unseen hands (probably belonging to Goldilocks) practically slammed their heads together. Their heads collided, bumping slightly, which hurt a bit. Their teeth may or may not have clicked. They were held there for an uncomfortably long time, not doing much but scrunching into that odd fishlike face that they assumed you were supposed to make, keeping their eyes shut tight. By far, this was probably one of the most uncomfortable situations Jack had been in that didn't involve the girl in red.  
There came a loud peal laughter.  
All right, maybe he shouldn't have assumed so quickly that it wouldn't involve her.  
Their heads were finally released and they broke off with a comically loud smack. The entire group had grown silent, whirling around to the young woman standing before them.  
She had stopped laughing, looking a little self conscious. She laughed like she used to when she made Jack uncomfortable, but quickly remembered her cover.  
"So I see the Giant Slayer has a little girlfriend," she said, making her voice extra low and grown up just to make up for her brief break in character.  
No one answered.  
"I feel bad for you two," looking at the bewildered, oddly joined couple, "you call that a kiss?"  
She leaned over and grabbed Simon by the front of his shirt, pressing her lips to his for a little more than a moment. Enough for it to seem deep but not overdone, making it seem slightly too long or too short, then gently pushed him back to release him. There was a collective gasp.  
"Now that," she said, wiping her mouth, "is how you kiss."  
And no sooner had she done that than she sashayed away, leaving the stunned teens behind.


	5. Heroes and Villains

CHAPTER FIVE: HEROES AND VILLAINS

They all just sat there for a minute, still processing what had just happened. Simon seemed quite shaken by the incident. There was a silence for some time, since no one could think of what to say.  
"What the hell was that!?" Goldilocks yelled angrily.  
Everyone just stared at her, not sure how to react.  
"What? You're all just going to stand there?"  
"Well... what else do you want us to do?" Jill asked, a bit afraid.  
"I... I don't know!" her face darkened, "The little slut!" she shouted, her voice full of venom.  
"Oh come on..." Jack said, trying to defend her, but realizing it was no use.  
"What? She is!"  
"Yeah! Why were we surprised by this? She always ruins everything!" Florinda chimed in.  
Jill was silent. Jack was grateful that she decided not to join in for once. They both thought it would be best to say out of it.  
Goldilocks turned back to the dazed, terrified, and slightly happy looking Simon.  
"What!? You're just going to sit there!? Wipe that stupid look off your face!" she screamed, "How dare she-" she was too angry to finish her sentence.  
"Calm down, Goldi," Pinocchio said, "She's the wolf's whore. It didn't mean anything. She was just trying to scare us as usual."  
"She's gone too far this time..." she said, shaking her head. Like the girl in red, Goldilocks would have intense, violent fits of rage, and no one could reason them out of it. They were more similar than they liked to think. The only difference was, one was deemed a heroine and one was deemed a villainess, despite the obvious backwards logic behind it.  
Simon was still at a loss for words. He seemed to be permanently stunned. Goldilocks kept ranting and raving. Eventually it got ridiculous.  
"She's a bride of the devil! I've heard that flowers make her cringe! She's afraid of their beauty because she's so ugly! She's an ugly whore!"  
The girls all responded in agreement, though the boys were a little more reluctant to agree. There were many words to describe Bloody Red, but "ugly" was definitely not one of them. Like she said, sometimes you can be too pretty.  
He decided he couldn't take it anymore. He wanted to tell them off. He wanted to smack each of them upside the head individually. He wanted them to come to their senses. But now, thanks to the kiss, they never could. So he left.  
He snuck off into the woods so quietly that no one realized he was gone over the noise of their growing tirade. He didn't know where he was going, just, away from them. He supposed that's where the girl in red was always going. He wondered why he'd never thought to join her.  
He came upon a clearing with a single large gnarled apple tree in the center. The girl in red was lying there, looking up at the branches, but suddenly righted herself once she heard him coming. She had sharper hearing than most.  
"Hello, Jack," she said, startled and almost angry, "What are you doing here?"  
He wasn't sure if that was a threat or not, so he answered her.  
"Getting away from them."  
"Ah. I was wondering when you'd come to your senses," she said, smirking.  
He always felt a little awkward in her presence, and he felt his face heating up. But he had to ask her.  
"Why did you do that?" he said, his voice quivering. She was more frightening than usual now that she'd done that to Simon.  
She laughed, "Do what?"  
He tried to gain some confidence but ended up just sounding more afraid, "You know very well what."  
"Oh, you mean the 'kiss'?" she said, all too casually, "Well, I figured someone had to save that that poor girl from another one like that, and you as well," she shrugged, "Though I regret my choice," she said, "Tasted like he ate dirt or something. Not attractive."  
She laughed grimly.  
"Was that really why?"  
"Well yes, and... he is Goldilocks's beaux, isn't he?" she said raising an eyebrow.  
"...Yeah..."  
"I knew it! I'm glad I was right. I was giving her a taste of her own medicine, for putting you both through that... whatever it was you were doing. Though, seeing the state of her boyfriend, that was probably enough of a punishment."  
"Listen, they're really mad at you," Jack said, getting annoyed at how casually she treated this.  
"Good! Let them be! I'm just doing my job."  
"Your job?"  
"Of course! Now that the witch has no power and the giant is dead, and the wolves keep well enough away, everyone needs a villain."  
"And you think that it's you?"  
"Oh of course it is. They need someone to hate," she said, gesturing to her form, "So I do my job. And I do it damn well. And everyone's happy."  
"Well, not you."  
"You think I want those little brats to like me? No, I'm not happy, but being the Wolf's Whore doesn't change that," she said, dripping with venom, "So, you're welcome, Giant Killer. You get to be the hero."

"You're welcome?", now he was just getting angry. Didn't she realize what she was doing to them... to him?

"For making you the hero. As I recall, who was it who made you go up the stalk again to get that harp?"

"And almost get me killed!"

"Because you were afraid of me, Mr. Giant Killer! You didn't have to do it!"

"You had a knife!"

"And you had an axe. But you went anyway because I told you to. I made you who you are. You're welcome, Giant Killer," she spat. She was furious. He was almost surprised she didn't burst into flames in an instant.

He was silent, afraid to say more.

"Well. What've you go to say, Hero?", she said, stepping forward and shoving him.

For some reason, that was the most insulting thing anyone could ever call him. Hero.

"I don't deserve to be the hero," he said quietly looking down at his feet, awkwardly shoving her back, not sure if that was the appropriate response to a situtation like this, "you do."

He took a moment to realize he'd just touched her, no shoved her. He was dead already.

"Well, if there's anything I've learned from all of this, it's that deserving it doesn't make a difference," she said flatly, not moving.

He got a good look at her. Her full lips were painted an even deeper red than usual. The lips that kissed Simon, and made the world hate her just a little bit more, and made him, for the first time in a while, jealous of another boy.

She suddenly bolted upright, her eyes set ablaze, and she reached for the knife at her belt. He whirled around to see something rustling in the trees. They both looked at each other for a split second, his eyes full of fear and her eyes full of malice.

They both knew what was coming.


	6. Flowers

CHAPTER SIX: FLOWERS

"Hey," said Goldilocks, rather aggressively, "Wolf Girl!"  
The girl in red turned to her, "What?"  
The whole group came up behind her with their hands behind their backs. What they were hiding, neither Jack nor the girl could guess.  
"What are you doing with Jack?" Goldilocks asked, while Jill glared at the girl in red.  
"What's it to you?"  
"Take your business elsewhere! The Giant Killer doesn't go with whores like you!" Jill yelled, with fire in her baby blue eyes.  
"Watch your mouth, Jill!" Jack yelled, suddenly snapping. These children were far worse than he'd ever imagined.  
"Stay away from him, Wolf Girl!" Jill yelled, not paying attention to Jack at all, "Quit turning him against his real friends... Harpy!"  
The "Wolf Girl" laughed, "Harpy? That's a new one."  
"HEY WOLF GIRL!" Goldilocks yelled, taking her hands out from behind her back.  
Jack saw the girl's eyes widen and her pupils rapidly dilate as she saw what was in Goldilocks hands.  
A large, delicate, white flower.  
The rest of the children revealed flowers of their own, and the girl in red stared at them with terror in her eyes. She let out a short, piercing scream and backed against the tree, trembling slightly. The children were baffled for a moment. Most of them didn't think the flower thing was really true. But they quickly took advantage of her momentary distraction. Some of them lobbed their blooms at her while two boys: Blue and another one Jack could not recognize, pinned The Wolf Girl against the tree on either side. Holding down her hands. Pinnochio snatched the knife out of her belt.  
Jack could only watch in horror. What were they going to do to her?  
Goldilocks ran right up to the girl.  
"What the hell were you doing with my boyfriend?"  
The girl in red just stared at her, then she quickly became infuriated as she saw what they had done to her.  
"I taught you a lesson. Not to mention did you a favor," she said, looking at Jill, "Someone had to show that boy how to kiss," she gestured to Jack, "since you were doing a terrible job of it. Now let me go or I'll curse you!"  
Goldilocks responded by shoving a flower into her face. Red gagged, then spat it out and blinked rapidly. Some petals had gotten into her eyes, which were now red, making them seem a piercing blue in contrast. She was trembling again, and both the boys pinning her down became slightly frightened, but held on fast.  
Jack snapped out of his momentary shock and rushed at the boy on the left, trying to pull him off, when another came from behind him to restrain him.  
"What the hell are you doing?" he screamed.  
"I should say the same to you!" Jill said, turning away from the girl in red, "I thought you were on my- I mean, our side!"  
"That doesn't answer the question. What are you doing!"  
He tried to fight off the incredibly strong boy behind him, but discovered there was more than one waiting in the wings. His eyes remained on Pinocchio and the knife. They wouldn't dare? Or would they?  
The Wolf Girl, meanwhile, was not paying attention to any of this.  
"Oh? You a witch now, Wolf Whore?" she said, shoving another flower into her face. Each girl was handing one off to the other. Jack could only really watch while this all happened.  
"Well you all seem to think so."  
A flower to the eyes.  
"Why are you such a little slut, Wolf Whore?"  
A flower in the mouth.  
"Why does everyone hate you, Wolf Whore?" Jill added, glaring intently.  
The girl in red spit out the flower petals, trembling even more.  
"Because they're all people like you!" she said, her voice breaking.  
Jill's dainty, bony hand suddenly struck her across the face, leaving a red mark.  
"You bitch!" Jack yelled, in a knee jerk response. Jill's eyes welled up with tears, and she turned to Jack.  
"Stay away from my boyfriend," Goldilocks said darkly, right before she punched the restrained Bloody Red hard in the stomach.  
The two boys restraining her let go as she crumpled to the ground, and they collectively hurled the rest of the flowers at her.  
They turned to Jack. Jill was the only one to speak to him, tears falling from her large eyes, getting caught in her long lashes.  
"Why did you say that?" she said, her voice trembling.  
Jack only looked at her incredulously.  
"I always thought you wanted a good girl! Not some god- forsaken-" she began to sob, and Florinda pulled her into a hug.  
"It's either us or her, Jack," Florinda said, "Make your choice."  
The two boys now restraining him let go.  
Jack just shook his head.  
"What do you think?" he said, staring daggers at them all. They just stared at him.  
"GOD! HER! You people are even stupider than me!"  
Blue shook his head gravely, "I'm disappointed in you, Jack."

They all turned to leave, when there came a cry of surprise.

Bloody Red had snatched the knife away from Pinocchio, kicking him to the ground. She whipped around, knife in hand, to view the rest of the shocked children.  
"Go away. Now... NOW!" she screamed in a low, frightening voice, waving the knife at them. Her thick hair hung, limp and frazzled, across her ghostly pale face, harsh blue eyes rimmed with red glaring at them murderously.  
They all began to run the rest of the way. Jill's sobs could be heard in the distance. Jack turned, expecting her to laugh at them bitterly like she usually did, or make some sort of witty comment on the whole situation. At least he thought she would use it as an opportunity to make fun of him. Instead, the girl sank to her knees, a shaky hand putting the knife back into her belt. She just knelt there, jaw clenched, her eyes as big as saucers.  
"I'm so sorry," Jack said, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder.  
She recoiled sharply, "Don't touch me!" she barked.  
She looked as though she were about to cry, but never did. She was a terrifying, but tragic, sight to see. Suddenly, she looked at him and quickly wrapped her arms around his neck. Her entire body was tense against his. He followed suit, trying to make the trembling stop.  
They just sat there in silence for a while, not letting go. Finally, she broke the silence.  
"Did you plan this?" she said, still clinging to him, her voice barely audible.  
"No, of course not," he replied, trying his best to sound soothing, "I don't know what came over them."  
She nodded quickly. "I do."  
More silence.  
"How did they know?" she whimpered.  
"About what?"  
"The flowers."  
"I don't know." Jack didn't bother trying to figure out what she meant. Why she was rendered nearly powerless at something as innocent as flowers he would never know. Were they right all along about her being a witch? He decided they weren't. There must be something else he doesn't know, though.  
She still didn't cry. She never did, that whole time. She just buried her face in his shoulder and he rubbed her upper back like his mother would do when he was sick. He didn't know what exactly was going on, but he decided it didn't really matter just now. He tried to memorize the feeling of her body against his, since he would probably never have the opportunity to ever again. She was warm, almost hot, and softer than he'd imagined, despite being so tense. She didn't let go, and he didn't mind that, so they just sat there in silence.


	7. Apples

She slept in the woods that night. She had neither the energy nor the desire to walk home. Mother had a fit that morning. Something about her father, she didn't really listen anymore. She didn't want to go to Granny's either, because she didn't want to have to retell the story. Granny was the only person she could really talk to. She understood what was happening to her. She was becoming a young woman, and Granny knew very well, especially now, what the other children thought of her. She also knew the danger men posed against her. That was why she gave her granddaughter a knife, and did not argue against the makeup. One would think that it would attract them, but it seemed to do the opposite. Not that it made her look ugly. It just made her look... menacing.

Luckily it hadn't rained that night. She lied to Jack, making it seem like she was heading home. She wanted to be alone. She knew she would be alert for wolves. She always slept with one eye open, figuratively speaking, trying not to let herself slip into complete unconsciousness. Of course, it never really worked, but she had good hearing, and would hear when a twig snapped or when leaves were trampled. She slept with one hand grasping her knife at all times. She was not afraid.

Jack awoke early that morning. He wanted to find the girl in red. To see if she was all right... well, really just to see her again. He especially wanted to avoid his mother and the other children. Of course, she would get wind of this in the marketplace, and start questioning him. He wanted to be out of the house before that could happen. He barely spared her a parting glance as he left, only leaving a vague answer for where he was going. He left in such a hurry that his mother couldn't protest, and went toward the woods.

He walked into the clearing again, not sure what he was doing. What made him expect she was there? It's not like she'd just stayed there since he left. What made him think she was even up? She didn't strike him as an early riser.

But, to his surprise, there she was, asleep. He went towards her. She still had a

hand on her knife, and her hair was splayed out beneath her, still covered in flower petals. The way she was sprawled about almost looked posed, as though she were the subject of a painting. It was funny, people were supposed to look peaceful when they were asleep, but she looked anything but. He'd heard somewhere that people were only really themselves when they were asleep or bathing. He blushed to think of the latter in respect to her.

But he supposed that was true, because she didn't look peaceful. She looked vaguely worried, or in pain. He felt a wave of pity for her. She was never calm, even when sleeping. He wondered what she must be dreaming about. Something horrible, he assumed. He took a step closer and her eyes snapped open. A moment later she bolted upright, knife in hand, looking wildly around.

"Oh," she said, slightly relieved, slightly annoyed, "It's you."

She warily put the knife away.

"Were you here all night?"

"Yeah... what's it to you?" she said, brushing her hair behind her ear, blinking at the

sunlight. Her makeup was a little runny. She wiped the underside of her eyes to fix it. Even first thing in the morning, she was rather... intimidating.

"Why?"

"Didn't want to go home. You've never slept in the woods before?"

"No. No one does that."

"Well," she said, slightly annoyed, "obviously, someone does, since I just did."

He shrugged, "Guess so."

He shifted his footing awkwardly. He stepped forward to help her up, holding out his

hand. He happened to notice, from the angle he was standing, he had a spectacular view down her dress, but didn't have time to get a good look when she stood up on her own accord, turning down his offer.

He shook his head. He needed to focus.

She looked to the side, thinking.

"I haven't eaten supper. I'm hungry."

And no sooner had said that when she grasped the nearest branch and began to climb the tree. He looked up at her.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting some apples, duh," she said, flipping upside down to face him, "Want one?"

He nodded, noting that her face was too close to his for comfort. She smiled.

"All right," she said, righting herself and continuing upward. She suddenly stopped and turned around to look down at him, straddling the branch, "What? I can climb things too. I just don't go around killing giants."

She turned around again, and continued until the branches were very thin and bent under her weight.

"Why are you going so high?" he said warily.

"The best ones are at the top," she said in a wispy voice, fluttering her eyelashes. She was imitating Jill. "Bull. The best ones are actually at the bottom," she said, this time as herself, flipping upside down again, her head missing the thickest branch by less than an inch, her hair brushing the top of his head. He batted it away from him, annoyed. She grabbed a few apples from the bottom and tossed them down at him.

"Actually," she said, righting herself again and coming back down, "I just went to the top to scare you."

He handed her an apple after she leapt gently toward the ground. She bit into it greedily.

"The best ones are at the bottom because they're the ripest," she said, with a wry smile. "People only say that about the top apples because they want to feel better about themselves."

"What?"

Jack was thoroughly confused.

"People say the same thing about girls. It's also not true. They say the better ones are at the top, and the rotten ones are at the bottom. But it's not true," she said, taking another bite, "They just like to think so."

Jack didn't even pretend to know what on earth she was talking about. They both just stared off into the distance, eating their apples wordlessly. He still wondered what she meant by the better apples. She was very confusing, more so than the other girls. The others were confusing, but in a different way. He thought about Jill. She would constantly say things she knew weren't true, like how she was ugly, and if anyone denied it, she would call them a liar. He thought about what she'd said the other day: she thought he went for good girls. What did that mean? Then there was the young woman sitting beside him. She wasn't quite confusing, more... mysterious. He supposed that was the right word. All this time, he knew absolutely nothing about her except that she hated flowers, her mother didn't love her, and she had a rather distracting figure.

He looked down at her. Her breasts looked bigger from the side, and he should stop staring at her like that. She would start to notice, if she hadn't already, and get angry like the other girls did. Or would she? He really didn't know. That was what made her so mysterious, he guessed. Then he noticed that the apple was gone.

"Where's your apple?"

She looked at him incredulously, "I ate it."

"All of it?"

"It's just an apple, not a horse. Why is that hard to believe."

"Even the core?"

"Yeah. You don't eat that part?"

He shook his head, "You're not supposed to eat that part."

"Says who?"

"Says everyone! Did you eat the seeds too?"

She nodded, as if this were the most obvious thing in the world.

"You're not supposed to eat the seeds! They're poison!" he said, legitimately afraid.

Was she going to die? Or get sick? Or what? No one had told him what happens

when you swallow the seeds, only that one mustn't.

"Well, they're not, because I've eaten the seeds for years and nothing ever happened to me," she said, sounding like the fiesty little girl she was before the wolf.

He pondered this for a moment, "I guess not."

She raised an eyebrow, smirking, "Or, maybe they are. Maybe I'm poisoned," she said in the seductive voice she usually saved for scaring the public, "Maybe that's why they're all afraid of me, why I'm so..." she leaned in uncomfortably close to him, "scary."

Was this some sort of invitation... to get poisoned? He just stared back at her, his face heating up. Then she laughed.

"You should see the look on your face! You're scared of me. It works every time!" she said, grinning, "Let me know if that Simon kid drops dead anytime soon. Then we'll all know if you're right about me being poisoned."

He just nodded. He really hoped she was joking.

She stared off into the distance for a moment, her brow slightly furrowed, as though she were trying to remember something.

"That might have been my first kiss."

"Really?" he said, slightly surprised because of her reputation, slightly sad that it

had to be that way.

She pondered it for a moment, "Yes. I suppose that's a bit sad, isn't it," she laughed without humor, "I suppose it could be worse, at least he's human. It's about at the same level as yours, sorry to say."

"Yeah," he said, laughing awkwardly, not sure how else to respond to that.

She turned quickly to him, "But don't tell anyone," she said, with an almost murderous look in her eyes, "I do have a reputation to uphold."

He nodded, frightened of how quickly her mood could change.

They sat there in awkward silence for a while. He was a bit afraid to do more than glance at her. She really was interesting looking. She always looked like she was thinking about something intensely, and she picked at her nails when she was nervous. He wondered if she'd always been that way, or if there was a time when she was like the other girls. He hoped not. He liked to think that she'd been different from the start.

She took a deep breath and looked at him cautiously, almost fearfully, "Can you promise me something?"

"All right."

"Promise you'll never get so scared of me that you won't talk to me. I do like you,

you know," she said, placing her hand on top of his, sending shock up his arm. He didn't move his hand.

"Of course," he said, "I like you too."

She smiled. It was nice to be liked for once.


End file.
